I Think I Like Lilypad Better Than Lily
by SparklesJamesLilyHSM13
Summary: "Dorcas, I'm serious. I think I love him." I was prepared for the lecture of why I couldn't and shouldn't be in love with James Potter, but I got something I was not expecting from the girl who had always been somewhat complicated when the situation was serious. (This is the updated version of ITILLBTL)
1. Seventh Year

_Hello readers. Thank you for your patience. This is the new version of __I Think I Like Lilypad Better Than Lily__. I just really didn't like the way the other one was going and now I'm going to try to keep up with writing. I can't always guarantee that the chapters will be long, but hopefully I can get back on my game. This will be similar to the original Lilypad but hopefully a little more like... spaced out. I hope you all like it and please review. Read on!_

* * *

Seventh Year. This was it. My last year to make everything exactly how I had imagined it to be. I stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express. I knew everything would be perfect this year. My only problem so far, was that I was Head Girl, and I still didn't know who Head Boy was. I sighed heavily.

"You okay, Lily?" Mary MacDonald asked me, her blue eyes filled up with concern.

"You look a little worried." Marlene McKinnon noticed.

"Oh, she just wants to know who Head Boy is so she can get her flirty face on." Dorcas Meadowes smirked. She didn't even look up from her notebook. Not any of us, Mary, Marlene, or I, knew exactly what Dorcas was writing about. But we were fully aware that she was an outstanding author, she had filled up notebooks with countless short stories and ideas for stories. I attempted to hide my blushing but I had known these girls for too long and they knew that I was turning red.

"Oh, please. I'm not going to _date_ the new Head Boy."

"Well, maybe you should." A voice came from the entrance of our compartment. I looked up to see the messy haired, hazel eyed, James Potter leaning against the doorway.

"What's it to you, Potter?" I spat.

"So you're Head Girl?" He asked me, as if he was confirming.

"Yes, I am. Why do you care?"

"Well, I'm Head Boy." His eyes sparkled as he said it.

I just looked at him. He had to be joking, right? I mean who in their right mind would make James Potter Head Boy? I wasn't trying to insult Professor Dumbledore or anything, but... _Potter_ as Head Boy?

"Ha. Yeah, right! Good one, Potter! Now who really Head Boy?" I laughed.

"He wasn't kidding, Evans. James really _is_ Head Boy." Sirius Black appeared by Potter's side. Merlin, those two were inseparable. It was kind of annoying how much time they spent together.

"We don't need your input, Black. And shouldn't you be tormenting First Years?" Dorcas sneered. She was _very_ good at hiding her feelings. Dory had liked Sirius ever since Sixth Year. He has asked her out every day in Fifth Year and every day, she turned him down. But in Sixth Year, he had kind of laid off. I just wish James had caught on like Padfoot had. James asked me out every day since Third Year and I was tired of it. Maybe, just maybe, this year would be different.

"No. I would much rather be here than tormenting First Years." Sirius sat down next to Dorcas and wrapped an arm around her. She stared at him for a moment with her eyebrow raised before shoving his arm off.

"Potter, how did you get to be Head Boy?" I asked, frustrated.

"Easy. Dumbledore looked at me and said to himself 'Wow. That boy should be Head Boy with that beautiful Lily Evans. They would be so perfect together. It's practically a match made in heaven.'" Potter replied, smiling. Merlin, he was conceited... and persistent. I blushed a little. And thinking he saw me, I heavily sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Why did you two even come over here in the first place?" Mary asked, annoyed.

"I came to ask Lily if she wanted to work on anything with our meeting with the prefects." James replied.

"And I don't know what I'm doing here!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Well, I figured we would go to the Head's compartment a bit early to discuss our plans, but I guess we could go over there now." I suggested.

James nodded in response and I grabbed my bag and said goodbye to everyone. When we were far enough away from the compartment that no one would see us, James slipped his hand into mine.

"So, you and me? Head Boy and Head Girl. It's fate, Lily. Face it." He whispered. I yanked my hand away and stopped dead in my tracks.

"Look, Potter. I'm. Not. Interested. Let's just get this meeting over with and try not to talk outside of meetings. And if we do talk, please, make it about business."

"Come on, Lilypad. Don't be like that. Can we at least be on a first name basis?" He pleaded, giving me the puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." I huffed, starting to walk again.

"Fine, what?"

"Fine... _James_." I muttered, forcing myself to call him James.

"That's much better, Lily. You'll get used to it."

We made it to the Head's compartment and he opened the door for me. _What a gentleman. Ugh! What am I talking about? It's James Potter, the closest thing he came to a gentleman was Remus _I thought to myself. Remus Lupin was another one of James' best friends. He was intelligent and kind and sweet and caring. I was surprised he had put up with James and Sirius for as long as he had. I sat down and opened up my book bag and got out a notebook that I had been writing down ideas for the prefects ever since I got my Head Girl letter.

"So, how are you doing, knowing that we're going to be living together this year?" James asked me, smirking.

"What?" I looked up quickly, staring at him.

"We're going to be living together. Head Boy and Girl always live together in a private dorm. Surely you knew that?"

"Well, if I had known that I wouldn't be so surprised, would I?" I spat, looking back down at my notes. How could I have not known? Was it a joke? No, it couldn't have been. James hadn't hit on me at all so it had to be true.

"Whoa! Calm down, Lily. I just thought you knew." James said, defensively.

"I am calm!" I lied. I wasn't calm at all. I was freaking out.

"Sure you are, Lily." A voice came from the doorway. Remus Lupin was standing there with a smile on his face.

"Remus!" I cried, getting up and hugging him.

"Lily!" He exclaimed, mockingly.

"James!" James jumped up and hugged us both.

"Ugh. James, get off!" I cried, trying to shove him off.

"If you go out with me." He smirked back.

"Prongs, you're not really my type. Thanks for the offer though." Remus interjected as he let go of me and sat down. James rolled his eyes and I giggled. James and I sat down across from Remus and started talking about summer and school. Soon, other prefects came in and I decided to start the meeting.

"Hello everyone. Thank you for coming here. We have a few things to discuss. James, do you want to start with the round schedules?" I said.

"Sure, Lily. So for round schedules, Lily and I were thinking-" James started, but was cut off.

"Wow, Potter! You were thinking? That's a shock to me." Severus Snape sneered, causing giggles from the other Slytherin prefect, Katherine Kettletoft.

"Bugger off, Snape. Please continue, James." I snapped, glaring at Katherine and Snape. I had no time for Snape's antics. Especially after Fifth Year.

"As I was saying, for round schedules, we were thinking of posting them in the prefects bathroom, that way we can all see them privately. Does anyone have any questions?" James continued.

"How will we be divided up to do rounds?" Remus raised his hand.

"James and I were thinking that we would be divided up by house and year. For Gryffindor this year, James and I will do rounds together and Remus and Gwendolyn will do rounds together." I told everyone. They all seemed pretty happy with the arrangements.

"We will talk to Professor Dumbledore about Hogsmeade trips and other events. Anymore questions?" James added. "That is all, thank you."

The other prefects left, leaving me and James to walk out together.

"That went well, love. You were very good." James commented, as we walked back to our compartments.

"James, we agreed that we would be on a first name basis. No nicknames." I smiled, lightly hitting his muscular arm.

"Aw. Come on, Lils." He whined.

"If you say so, _Prongsie-poo_." I smiled, noticing his immediate frown.

"Oh, how sweet, Mr. and Mrs. Twat have given each other pet names. You two are just adorable together." A sticky voice said from behind us.

"Bugger off,_Snivellus._" James snarled.

"I just wanted to say how glad I am that you and your little mudblood girlfriend are happy together." Snape growled back. James tried to lunge at him.

"James… I can handle this one," I said, placing my hand on his chest to hold him back. "Look, Snape, do you know why we stopped being friends? It was because I finally woke up and realized that you are one of the most rude, inconsiderate, judgmental assholes of all time. You introduced me to the wizard world and I thank you for that. But now you need to go run back to your little Death Eater friends and leave me and James the fuck alone." I spat. James grabs my hand before marching off towards our compartments.

"Wow, Lily. You were really back there." James smiled at me.

"Thanks. I guess I'll see you later." I replied dropping his hand. I slide open the door of my compartment. I kind of missed Snape sometimes but it was times like these that made me realize why we had gone our separate ways.

"Yeah, I'll see you around, Lily." James said still smiling. I walked back into the compartment, taking the empty seat next to Dorcas.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did James Potter just call you Lily?" Marlene asked completely in shock.

"Yeah. We agreed to be on friendly terms." I said, waving it off like it was no big deal.

"Lily Evans, you never cease to amaze me and your way of snatching up men." Dorcas smirked.

"I am not going to snatch him up, Dory. We're going to be working together, so we agreed to be civil."

"5 galleons says she snogs him before Christmas. And we can't dare either of them to do it." Mary whispered to Marlene.

"You're on, MacDonald."

"Now, since you have nothing better to do than to make bets on my love life, why don't you change? We'll be a Hogwarts any second." I snapped at Mary and Marlene.

XoXoXoXoXoX

We made our ways off the train and over to the carriages. We watched as Remus and Peter got into a carriage with Alice Prewett and Frank Longbottom. I was just about to climb up into a carriage with Dorcas, Marlene, and Mary when Sirius Black jumped in front of me and climbed in himself.

"Lily! You need to learn to be faster!" Dorcas yelled back at me. Another carriage came up next to me, and sitting in it was (you guessed it) James Potter. He extended his hand and I reluctantly took it. We sat in the carriage for a moment or two before he broke the silence.

"Congratulations, Lily. I know you really wanted to be Head Girl." He bashfully smiled at me. Was I making James Potter nervous? No, there was no possible way.

"Oh… thanks, James. Congratulations to you, too. Though I still wonder how you managed to snag this." I grinned at him.

"I am too, Lily." He laughed. I suddenly realized that I had spent more than a minute with James Potter without having an argument with him. It must have been a record. I was just happy that we could be civilized towards one another.

And in that moment… we were different… and I liked it.

* * *

_What did you think? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Did you like the old one better? Tell me. Let me know. our your little heart out. Thanks for reading._

_xoxo  
Mischief Managed. _


	2. Living with James Potter

_Hello my lovelies. Sorry it took so long to post this_ _one. I've been so bust with preparing myself for school. I have an essay to do and another book to read and a math packet to finish so please don't expect any chapter anytime soon. Hopefully, the next chapter will be a Halloween one and it might be up within the next month or so. But I can't guarantee anything. I hope you like this one. It is a bit shorter than the other one... but hopefully not by much. Read on :)_

* * *

Our carriage finally stopped at the entrance to Hogwarts. Merlin, it was so beautiful. It was incredibly hard to think that this would be the last time I would be getting off the carriage and walking through the doors of the place that had always given me something to smile about.

"Are you coming, Lily?" James called from the Hogwarts entrance.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." I said, walking up to the doors. We walked towards the Great Hall, both excited for the feast. Though, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. It was the last sorting feast I would ever attend.

"You okay?" James asked me, looking concerned.

"I'm fine. It's just… his is our last year at this place. I'm going to miss it so much." I told him. He turned around and looked at me seriously.

"Hey, don't think of that now. We still have a whole year. And it will be our best year yet, okay?" He said, looking me right in the eyes. I nodded in response as we walked into the Great Hall. Dorcas, Marlene, and Mary were conveniently sitting next to Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

"Oh well look who it is, it's Mr. and Mrs. Potter. How is the happy couple on this fine evening?" Marlene laughed as James and I walked over to the table together.

"Shut it, Marley. Not funny." I snapped.

"Well, that's debatable." Mary smirked at me, looking from me to James.

"How was your ride up?" I asked, changing the subject. I took a seat in between Dorcas and Remus. James sat directly across from me next to Sirius.

"Ugh, don't mention it ever again, Lily." Dorcas groaned.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad, Dory." Marlene argued.

"Yes, it was. It was awful. He was just so-" Dory cried.

"Handsome, romantic, loveable, perfect in every way?" Sirius guessed, smirking.

"Bugger off, Sirius." Mary spat.

"When I'm dead, MacDonald."

"That can happen sooner than expected." Dorcas sneered.

"Would you shut it? The sorting is about to start." I said, turning to face Dumbledore.

After the sorting and the feast was over, James, Remus, Gwendolyn, and I got the First Year Gryffindors settled in and sat in the common room.

"Well, I'm going to head off to bed, you lot. 'Night." Gwendolyn yawned as we bid her goodnight. Soon it was just Remus, James, and I in the common room.

"So, Remus, before James and I head off to Dumbledore, what's going on with you and Mary? And don't even try to deny it. I saw you staring at her during dinner." I asked.

"I'm not quite sure, Lil. I mean I fancy her a little bit. But I don't know if I want to get into a relationship." Remus replied, looking a bit sad.

"Well, we are going to have a conversation about this tomorrow, okay?" I said, noticing James was getting anxious. "Let's go to Dumbledore, James." He nodded and we said goodbye to Remus. As we walked out of the common room, I noticed that James seemed very quiet.

"You alright, James?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, uncertainly.

"Okay, well if you want to talk about anything with me, I'll always be here." I reassured him.

"Thanks, Lily. I appreciate that." James genuinely smiled at me. He started to open his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. _That's okay,_ I thought, _He probably just doesn't want to talk about it._ I was kind of disappointed. I wanted him to talk. Hearing other people thoughts and problems usually kept me preoccupied from my own.

It was when we arrived at Dumbledore's office that James woke me up from my own thoughts.

"Lemon Drops," He said to the gargoyles. I didn't think twice about how he already knew the password. "After you, m'lady."

"Thank you, kind sir." I rolled my eyes at him. I knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office and soon heard a muffled "Come in."

"Ah, Lily and James, thank you for coming tonight," Dumbledore grinned at us as we took our seats in front of his desk. "Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on becoming Head Boy and Girl. And secondly, I would like to show you to your dormitory that the two of you will be sharing for the year. It's just practical for planning things this year."

"Or _not_ planning things, if you know what I mean. You what I mean, don't you professor?" James smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"_James!_" I hissed, smacking his muscular arm.

"It's quite all right, Ms. Evans. I do have a slight feeling that I know what Mr. Potter here is talking about," Dumbledore smiled. "Anyway, allow me to escort you to your dormitory." Dumbledore guided us out of his office and into a narrow corridor just past Gryffindor tower. At the very end there was a portrait of Godric Gryffindor holding two unlit candles.

"The candle on the left is lit when Lily is in the room and the one on the right is lit when James is in the room," Dumbledore told us. "The password is Patronus. I hope the rest of your night is well."

Dumbledore turned around and walked down the hallway leaving the corridor empty.

"Well, let's see what we have in here. Patronus." James spoke to the portrait. The door swung open, revealing our common room. It was extraordinarily like the Gryffindor common room. It was a bit smaller and had a small kitchen, but other than that, it was the same. There was one door towards the left that had 'Lily' written on the front and the door on the right had 'James' written on it. James walked over into his room while I was drawn toward the seemingly endless book shelves. Some of them were muggle classics and some of them I had never heard of.

"Well, well, well… Lily Evans found the books. I guess I won't see much of you since you'll be cooped up in your room reading every one of those." James said from behind me.

"Oh bugger off. I've already read some of these before, thank you very much." I smiled at him.

"Pick one out for me." He grinned back.

"What?"

"Pick out a book for me to read, Lily." He said again. It took me a second. And then I chose one of my favorite muggle classics, _The Catcher in the Rye_ by J.D. Salinger. I picked up and handed it to him.

"Tell me how you like it," I said, smiling again. "I'll see you tomorrow, James. Goodnight." I walked into the room that said 'Lily' and closed the door behind me. The walls were a deep green with a lacey sort of pattern on them while the bed was a pretty cream color with a black lacey pattern on the comforter. I looked out the large window to see the lake as pretty as ever.

I changed into a sports bra and plaid pajama bottoms and walked into the bathroom. I was in the middle of putting my hair up in a ponytail when James walked in, shirtless. I had to force myself to look away from his nicely toned muscles.

"I guess we share a bathroom, too." I said quietly.

"I guess we do. Er. I'll let you finish up." He said, backing away and shutting the door to his room. I finished in the bathroom and I knocked on his door to let him know I was done. I closed my door to the bathroom and collapsed on my bed. Living with James Potter might be a little more difficult than I thought.

* * *

_Did you like it? Did you absolutely hate it? (I'll admit it's not my best work) Is there a bit of foreshadowing going on? Do you want more descriptions of James shirtless? Is there something going on with Remus and Mary? How about Dorcas and Sirius? I'll try my best to have another chapter up soon... no guarentees. _

_xoxo  
Mischief Managed.  
_


	3. Halloween Parties and Ankle Problems

_Hello fellow Jily shippers :) Now, don't get your hopes up, I probably won't be getting another chapter up for a while. I finally have to get really serious about school and what not, but I had a lazy day and I had some inspiration. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Read on._

* * *

The first day of classes went by quickly. Actually, the months of September and October went by entirely too quickly. And the annual Gryffindor Halloween Party, hosted by none only than the Marauders, was already here. I had told James that if he could read _The Great Gatsby_ by F. Scott Fitzgerald in a week or less, he could pick out my costume.

Well, that was a mistake.

I was to be a bunny. Or as some muggles might call it… the Playboy bunny. Dorcas decided on going as cat; but not as a "super sexy cat" as Sirius had wanted her to, just as a cat. She actually doesn't like cats much… but she decided it was simple. Marley was going as the devil and I have a feeling her date, Fabian Prewett, was going to have a bloody heart attack when he saw her. Mary was going as a bumble bee. I had convinced Remus to ask her to dance at the party considering he wouldn't ask her to be his date to the party.

I had decided on going with Ben Davis a fellow seventh year Ravenclaw. He was sweet and extremely intelligent. And best of all, Ben was safe; I didn't want a real relationship, just a male presence. I didn't want to have the chance of falling in love with someone. It would just complicate things.

"Lily, have you seen my ears?" Dorcas yelled from the bathroom.

"Yeah, they're right here, Dory," I called, "I'll put them on your bed."

"Thanks, Lil. Now tell me again why you're going with Davis and not Potter." She said as she walked back into the room.

"Well, first of all, I don't like James and we're just friends. And, second of all, I like Ben, he's sweet. But I don't really want a relationship and Ben is just a one-time thing." I told her for the hundredth time.

"James is not going to like you being with Ben, you know that right?" Marlene interjected.

"It doesn't matter what James thinks. We're mates. But he doesn't get to decide who I can and cannot hang out with or go to a party with." I snapped. James and I were mates but that doesn't mean he gets to dictate my life.

"Okay, well, if you're sure. Let's go downstairs!" Mary said excitedly. We walked downstairs and music was blasting and the party was already in full swing. I met Ben by the fire place and he offered to get me a butterbeer.

"Sure, thanks. Meet me by the window seat?" It was too hot by the fire place and I figured the window seat would be less crowded.

"Sure, I'll see you over there." He smiled. I made my way to the window seat and sat down, re-adjusting my ears. For the first time in a while, I was happy. I usually didn't like parties much but I had a feeling this one would might turn out alright.

"Hey, Lily. Oh, I see you lost your bet with James." Remus said looking at my costume and taking a seat next to me.

"Er… yeah. Let's not talk about it…" I said, nervously pulling at my tights, "I like your costume, by the way." Remus was dressed as a muggle police officer.

"Thanks. Sirius picked it out, so I didn't really have a say in it." Remus laughed. Ben came over and handed me my butterbeer.

"Thanks, Ben. Remus, you know Ben Davis, right?" I introduced them and they started talking about Quidditch.

"My, my, Lily Evans. What a lovely costume." Sirius came up to me dressed as an Azkaban inmate.

"Oh, shut it, Black. Why don't you go ask Dory to dance?" I said, taking a long sip of my butterbeer.

"Nah, I'll ask her later, right now she's snogging James over by the bar." He said casually.

"She's what?!" I spat my butterbeer out, turning to look at the bar.

"Ha! I got you, Evans. I got you good." Sirius laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. I playfully shoved his arm, nearly knocking his drink out of his hand.

"You're the worst, Sirius, you know that? I thought Dorcas had completely gone bonkers. I'll get you back somehow." I threatened.

"Yeah, that's what it was, Evans. You weren't just jealous of her or anything." Sirius smirked. But before I could yell at him for being a complete nutcase, Ben interrupted.

"Care to dance, Lily?" Ben asked, holding his hand out sweetly.

"Sure, Ben. I'd love to." I smiled at him before downing the last of my butterbeer. I took his hand and made it to the dance floor. We danced for a while before I dismissed myself to get a firewhiskey. I made my way to the bar and as I waited for my drink, I started chatting with Felicity Ryan, a Sixth Year Ravenclaw. She was had been a prefect and we were friends, but the kind of friends you only made small talk with. While we were talking, James came up to us. He was wearing his Quidditch uniform, so I assumed he just went for the simple Quidditch player costume.

"You know, Lily, I think have exquisite taste in Halloween costumes." He smirked at me.

"Oh yeah, Lily told me about the bet. Sorry you lost, Lily. But on the bright side, Ben can't keep his eyes off you, can he?" Felicity smiled, giving me a friendly nudge. I felt James tense up next to me, "Well, I should be going. But I'll see you guys at the prefect meeting on Monday, yeah?"

"See you, Felicity." I grinned, picking up my firewhiskey and taking a sip.

"You came with Davis?" James asked me quietly.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal. I like Ben, but this is just a one-time thing. I'm just not looking for a relationship right now." I shrugged.

"Oh, well, okay then," He seemed to have loosened up a bit, "Hey, the Marauders and I are playing truth or dare out by the lake in a few, want to join?" He said excitedly.

"Sure, what the hell!" I smiled, re-adjusting my ears again.

XoXoXoXoXoX

"Alright, Evans, truth or dare?" Sirius asked.

"Let's try truth this time." I smiled, taking a sip of firewhiskey and tugging anxiously on my sweater. I had already changed out of my costume into a green sweater and jeans so I didn't have ears to re-adjust when I was nervous.

"If you could snog anyone in this circle, right now, who would it be?" Sirius smirked.

"Well, Mary, Marley, and Dory are out of the question. I love them, but… no."

"Right back at you, Lils." Marley laughed.

"Peter, you're a sweet guy and all but I don't think I could."

"The feeling is mutual, Lily." Peter smiled nervously at me.

"Remus and Sirius are like my older brothers and I have no desire to make out with a sibling."

"I'm sure you're great and all, Evans, but I couldn't do it either." Sirius winked.

"So I guess that leaves, you, James. I guess if I _had_ to. I would snog you." I blushed, swirling the firewhiskey in my glass and trying to avoid eye contact. I knew everyone was staring at me, appalled at what I had just said.

"Why, thank you, Miss Evans," James smiled and then whispered, "If I had to snog someone it would be you as well."

I blushed again. Did I have feelings for James? No, no… of course not. I mean he did seem to have changed over the summer holiday. And he had been extra nice to me; he had carried my books in the hallways, done extra rounds with me; he actually read the books I recommended; he hadn't asked me out once since we got to school; he had even fixed the curtains in my room when they ripped. Was I actually falling for him?

"I'm going to get some more firewhiskey. Be back in a flash." I said, nervously. I got up and poured some more from the huge bottle we had brought down.

"Can you pour me some, too?" Dorcas came up right next to me and startled me.

"Sure. Hey, Dory? I uh… need to tell you something." I said as I took another sip of firewhiskey.

"Go ahead. What is it?"

"Can we take a walk? Around the lake? This needs a long explanation." I said.

"Sure, let's go." Dory said immediately. As soon as we were away from the group and I knew they couldn't hear us, I started telling Dory everything. I told her how I had kind of, maybe, developed feelings for James and how we had gotten so much closer and how he wasn't being as prat-like.

"You know what I think, Lily? I think you should go for it. And I'm not just saying that. I think you should go for it. Who knows? Maybe it'll turn out to be fantastic. It's our Seventh Year. Take a chance and go out with James Potter."

"I don't know, Dory. Maybe I'm just over-thinking this. There probably isn't anything actually going on." I said, really unsure of myself.

We had almost made it back to the group when I clumsily tripped on a rock.

"Dammit. Dorcas, I don't think I can walk. That rock literally popped up out of nowhere." I said, sitting down on the demon rock.

"Here, I'll help you back up to the group but then someone's going to have to carry you." She said, helping me up and putting her arm around my waist.

"Are you calling me fat?" I questioned.

"Would you like me to help you, or would you rather stay here and slowly crawl your way to Madame Pomfrey?" Dorcas threatened.

"Fine, let's just get Sirius to carry me or something." I sighed, pushing my hair out of my face.

"Oh God, Lily, are you alright?" Mary jumped up and helped me sit down.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But someone is going to have to help me to the hospital wing." I replied, looking at my ankle which was now completely swollen.

"Here, I'll carry you," James volunteered, "And don't protest." He said when I had opened my mouth to do just that.

James picked me up and carried me wedding style up to the castle. I hesitantly put my arms around his neck and leaned into his chest to get more comfortable.

"You okay, Lily?" He asked, his sparkling hazel eyes filling with concern.

"Yeah… I'm great," I genuinely smiled at him, "I'm really, really great."

* * *

_Ta-da! Did you like it? Did you hate it? I don't know what I'm doing for the next chapter, I have a few ideas but not many. Soooo if you have any ideas you can PM me or comment or send me a message or a question on my tumblr. I'm ithirdwheelprofessionally_

_xoxo  
Mischief Managed_


	4. Being Comforted by the Marauders

_Hello my lovelies. Here's the next chapter... I'm not sure it's my best, but I have really good plans for the next few. Things will get interesting. I don't think there will be many more chapters for a while; school starts next week. But I wanted to get something out there before then. Hope you like it. Read on!_

* * *

_Lily,  
I wanted to let you know that Vernon proposed to me a month or so ago and dad has forced me to invite you. But I feel that you don't deserve a proper invitation. Anyway, it will be just a bit before Christmas, December 14__th__ to be exact. You may bring a guest if you like but I don't want any funny business. I would prefer you not to bring another little freak but I really don't have much of a choice. _

_Petunia_

I read it over and over again. I couldn't believe it. Tuney? Getting Married? Well, I guess all of those promises to be in each other's weddings were all just memories now. I didn't even get a proper invitation! The cool mid-November breeze blew my hair slightly as I leaned back against the wall of the astronomy tower. Thank Merlin that the Heads dorms were so close to it. I could just sneak out at night and just sit out and look at the stars.

This was just one of those times where I really wanted my mum around. Just to cry into her shoulder and have her gently rub my back and tell me it was going to be okay. My mum had died in early August. She had been diagnosed with liver cancer when I was in fifth year. She seemed to be doing really well but at some point this past June she had gotten pneumonia. She was so weak and the radiation had killed off so many of her white blood cells, and she just couldn't fight back anymore.

I felt like I didn't really have a chance to be sad about it because a week after her funeral, I had to go off to school. Crying came in waves for me. It always had. I was pretty solemn at the funeral and didn't cry much. But when I got the letter from Petunia, I lost it. I couldn't stop. Everything just came rushing out of me. I finally collected myself enough and laid down on the floor of the astronomy tower, using my sweater as a pillow. After a while, I heard a small knock on the door.

"Red? Are you up here?" A deep voice asked.

"Not now, Sirius."

"James, Remus, and I have been looking everywhere for you. When James saw that you weren't in the dorm he got Remus and me to come look for you. Wait, have you been… crying?"

"You've been looking for me?" I asked, sitting up and wiping my eyes.

"Yes. Now, Evans, why have you been crying?" Sirius sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulder. And I couldn't help it; I leaned into his chest and just started sobbing again. Sirius instinctively rested his head on mine and soothingly stroked my hair. Soon, there was another knock on the door.

"Lily, are you-" Another voice called before noticing myself in Sirius Black's arms crying my eyes out. I saw two pairs of feet enter.

"Oh Merlin, Lily. What happened?" Remus kneeled down and put his hand on mine. Sirius pushed the hair out of my face as I looked up to see James Potter standing up awkwardly as his best mates tried to calm me down and figure out what was wrong with me.

"James, come join the party." I smiled weakly as I sat up and handed Remus the crinkled piece of parchment from my sister. James sat down next to me and read over Remus' shoulder.

"What's going on? Tell me what it says." Sirius whined.

"My sister is getting _married_." I cried again, this time leaning into James. He sort of sat there for a minute before wrapping his arms around me and rubbing soothing circles on my back.

"Well what's so bad about that? Besides the fact that she seems like a wanker." Sirius asked after he read the letter.

"She's getting married and she always told me I could be in her wedding. And she said that my father had to force her to even invite me at all and-" I rambled into James' chest. Merlin, he smelled really good. Freshly mowed grass and broom polish and new parchment and firewhiskey.

"What about your mum? What does she have to say about this?" Remus asked as he ran his thumb back and forth on the back of my hand.

"She died in August." I said.

"Ah, so is this one of the waves?" Remus asked smiling. He was one of the only people who knew about my waves of emotions. Obviously Dory, Marley, and Mary knew. Alice Prewett and Gwendolyn Peterson knew as well, seeing as they had shared a dorm with me for seven years.

"That's the only way my emotions come in." I lifted my head up and stared at James for a moment, a smirk starting to appear.

"I'm not sure what to tell you, Lily. But you know that as our little sister, you are allowed to cry on us anytime you please. Now, I think Remus and I should be off to bed. Don't get up; you need a little more time. Why don't you stay with her, Prongs? Then you two can walk back to your dorms." Sirius smiled before kissing my forehead and standing up. Remus nodded and kissed my cheek before Sirius helped him up. They walked out the door, closing it quietly.

"Sorry about all of this." I said sheepishly as I turned to James.

"Don't worry about it, Lily. You're allowed to cry on my shoulder anytime you like." He smiled.

"You sure? Because you know, when I cry, it's rare, and it's a lot."

"Anytime," James reassured me. "And Lily?"

"Yeah?" I leaned back into him and allowed him to wrap his arm around me.

"I'm sorry about your mum."

"Thanks. You two would have gotten along." James and I were just sitting there, looking up at the stars. I nearly fell asleep when I thought about my sister's wedding again.

"Hey, James?"

"Lily?"

"What are you doing on December 14th?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Want to go to a wedding?"

XoXoXoXoXoX

"You asked him to your sister's wedding?!" Dorcas asked loudly. I had decided to spend my Saturday with the girls. Though, I have a feeling that maybe I should have just spent it in the library.

"Dory, I've explained this at least four times. I asked him _as a friend_ to my sister's wedding. If I had asked Sirius, he would have gotten trashed and used magic by accident and you would be pouty. I would have asked Remus, but you know he would be _too_ perfect and my dad would be suspicious. And Mary would faint. James is the only one that would make my sister's wedding as least painful as possible." I repeated, sitting down on Alice's bed.

"Are you sure, Lily? I mean you don't want to lead him on and make him think that you're falling for him or something." Marlene pointed out as she tightened her neck tie.

"Yes, I'm sure. James knows that we're only going as friends."

"Wait a minute; I would _not_ be pouty if you asked Sirius." Dorcas said defensively.

"Yes you would. Dory, we all know that you have feelings for Sirius. You don't exactly hide them very well." I smirked.

"I am a fantastic actor! My feelings are very well hidden; unlike Miss Mary over here! Remus is fully aware of your feelings for him, believe me." Dorcas snorted.

"Hey!"

"Ladies, ladies, calm down. Now let's just head down to the lake and plan our trip to Hogsmeade next week." Marlene spoke, picking up a blanket and a sweater.

XoXoXoXoXoX

"No, no, no, no, NO!"

"Lily you are being impossible. Our last Hogsmeade trip is the day of your sister's wedding. We have to get your dress next week!" Mary exclaimed.

"What's wrong with the dresses I have now?!" I asked defensively.

"You own two dresses. And they are both much too casual." Marlene pointed out.

"Lily just let them help you pick out a dress. It'll save you a lot of arguing." Alice grinned as she walked over hand and hand with Frank Longbottom.

"Fine," I huffed. "But nothing too slaggy."

"And nothing too prudish," Dorcas smiled devilishly. "I already have three dresses you would approve of on hold at that cute little shop that Marlene always drags us too."

"Oh fantastic."

Circe, next weekend was going to be… interesting.

* * *

_Sorry this wasn't the most eventful chapter ever. But I promise there are plans for the next few. If you have any questions or comments you can PM me or go to my tumblr, the link is on my profile page. I have another one-shot (possibly two-shot) coming up too, but it's no where near where I want it to be. But until my next chapter or next one/two-shot..._

_Mischief Managed_


	5. Dress Shopping and Shocking News

_So I lied. I had so many ideas and I was so excited for this chapter that I started writing it late last night and... oops? Here's another one. I hope you like it. WARNING: BEWARE THE DRESS DESCRIPTIONS THAT ARE IN THIS CHAPTER. Read on!_

* * *

"Lily, try this one on!"

"Oooh! How about this?"

"Try this one!"

"This one would look great on you!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Let me just try on the ones Dory had on hold, okay? If I don't like any of those, I'll try on more." I said, trying to calm my friends down. They were much too excited about James and I going to my sister's wedding. Madame Penelope's Pretty Pinafores dress shop sold dresses for all occasions and we had been coming here since we first started coming to Hogsmeade in third year.

"Madame Penelope? Can I have those dresses I put on hold the other day?" Dorcas asked the dark haired, middle aged witch.

"Of course, love. Lily, why don't you come back here with me? The rest of you girls can wait here and wait for her to come out." Madame Penelope smiled as she took three garment bags off of a clothing rack from behind the counter. She led me in to a small dressing room and hung the bags on a hook. I opened the first one and saw an elegant sapphire gown with an empire neckline. I tried it on, but it didn't quite fit how I had expected it to. But i walked out of the dressing room to my friends just to see what they had to say.

"Well, it's nice. But it looks a bit tight." Marlene noticed.

"How do you like it, Lily?" Dorcas asked eagerly.

"Well, it _is_ a bit tight. Let me try on the next one." I said, turning around and locking the door behind me. I opened up the next bag to reveal a strapless emerald green sweetheart neckline that came just above her knees. It wasn't sparkly or shimmery, but it had just the right amount of class. I walked out of the dressing room and turned to see all three of my mates with their mouths open in shock.

"What?! What is it?" I questioned, alarmed.

"Lily…it's…it's perfect. _That's_ the one. You have to get it." Dorcas said in awe.

"Nothing is perfect," I smiled. "But I really like it."

"You look amazing, sugar. Whoever you're going with to that wedding is a very lucky guy." Madame Penelope winked as she rung me up. I smiled to myself as I ran back into the dressing room.

"God, I hope he likes it."

XoXoXoXoXoX

I slid next to Dorcas in one of the large booths by the stairs of The Three Broomsticks. Mary and Marlene sat across from us.

"Four butterbeers and two treacle tarts," Mary smiled at Madam Rosmerta as she came to take their orders.

"So Lily, on a scale of Avery to James Potter, how much do you love the dress?" Marlene grinned before taking a small bite of the tart Madam Rosmerta had laid down in front of her and Mary.

"Really? Can't we just use a scale of one to ten?"

"Look at that, she didn't even try and deny that she loves Potter." Dory pointed out as she took a sip of butterbeer.

"Dory, I'm not in love with James. I like him and I like spending time with him, but that doesn't automatically make me love him."

"Lily Evans; that is probably the nicest thing you've ever said about that boy." Mary smirked.

"And you're sure you're not in love with him?" Marlene interjected.

"I don't know. I think I could fall in love with him."

James had been really been there for me. When I nearly broke my ankle, when I needed help with transfiguration, when I had that meltdown on the astronomy tower. I don't know what happened to the arrogant arse that asked me out every day, but James Potter had really changed.

"Evans, you are already in love with him. Merlin, you two are soooooo going to hook up before Christmas." Sirius smirked as he walked up to our table.

"What do you want, Sirius?" Dorcas questioned harshly.

"Well, I actually had a question for you, Dory," he took a step closer to the table. "Dorcas Octavia Meadowes, will you do the honor of accompanying me to Hogsmeade on the day our best mates are off snogging at Petunia Evans' wedding?"

"Hey!" I said defensively.

"Lily, hush." Mary shushed before changing back to Dorcas and Sirius.

"Yes, you tosser, I would love to go to Hogsmeade with you." Dory beamed. Sirius smirked back at her before turning to leave.

"Hey, Sirius? Is… is James with you? I need to talk to him about something." I asked quickly.

"Sure, Lilykins, come on. He's outside." I grabbed my coat and my scarf and headed towards the door.

"I'll be right back. I just… I have to… I'll be back." I called to the girls before walking out of the warmth of The Three Broomsticks.

"Prongs? You have a visitor." Sirius said as he held out his hands to 'present' me.

"Hey." James said lightly when he saw me.

"Hey. Can we… can we talk?"

"Yeah sure, let's walk." We headed off toward the castle. I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing, but I was sort of just jumping into it. There was no way out, no one could do this for me. No button I could push, no lever to pull, no knob to turn. I was just jumping.

"James, I… I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me recently. Fixing my curtains and helping me with transfiguration and carrying me when I twisted my ankle and the wedding thing. I just really appreci-" I started before I realized that we were holding hands.

"Lily, you don't have to thank me for anything. You're worth it." We had stopped walking and James' face was dangerously close to mine. _I just have to jump _I thought to myself before I got up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. I threw my arms around his neck and he moved one of his hands to my waist, and the other started running through my hair. After what felt like years of just the two of us, I pulled away.

"Lily, I-"

"James, shut up so I can kiss you." I smiled before giving him a quick, yet deep, kiss.

"Lil, You know how much I love you and I love that we're friends, but I've always wanted to be more than friends. I just don't want to ruin anything between us. And if you don't want to be more than friends, I completely understand. But, Lily, I don't think I can be just friends anymore." James said, his forehead resting on mine.

"James, I don't think I can be just friends anymore either. I don't think I've wanted to be just friends for a while now." I whispered.

"Come on; let's go announce to the world that Lily Evans has finally said yes to James Potter." James grinned as he grabbed my hand and dragged me back to The Three Broomsticks. I opened the door and grabbed his hand, walking over to where I had left Mary, Marlene, and Dory; who were now sitting with Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

"Lily Katherine Evans! You just left with no warning and you-" Dory started to yell at me before she noticed my hand interlaced with James'.

"Oh. My. Merlin." Mary breathed, completely flabbergasted.

"No way." Peter gasped.

"Marlene, give Mary five galleons." I smiled.

"Why on Earth would I… OH! Dammit Lily!" Marlene rolled her eyes and fished five galleons out of her pocket.

"They made a bet that you and I would snog before Christmas." I explained to James after noticing his confused face.

"So are you two, you know? A thing?" Sirius asked, wiggling his eyebrows and wrapping his arm around Dory.

"What do you think, Lil?" James questioned, smiling down at me. He was definitely too tall for his own good. Dorcas always said that I looked like an ant compared to him.

"Yes. James and I are definitely a thing." I beamed as James kissed my forehead.

* * *

_So what did you think? Did you like it? Did you hate it? I can't guarantee any chapters soon... but you never know with me. Questions or comments? PM me or ask me on my tumblr... link is on my profile page._

_xoxo  
Mischief Managed._


	6. All About Me

_Hello my lovelies. I hope you are all excited for a brand new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Didn't get your letter? That's okay... just pretend you did and when you're alone you can cry in the corner with me. Anywho, here is the next installment of __Lilypad__, hope you enjoy it. (Oh, and I took down the last chapter because I found lots of narrative errors, so that's why there were so many chapters updated today. Sorry about that!) Read on!_

* * *

The news that James Potter and I were dating came as a shock to everyone. Flitwick fell off of the stack of books he stood on, Sprout accidentally killed off an entire crop of flitterbloom and McGonagall practically fainted when she found out. At first, I wasn't exactly happy about telling anyone. But I figured that everyone would find out eventually, so why not get it over with, right?

"Hey, James?" I said, re-reading the letter I had just received as I leaned against the kitchen counter

"Hmmm?" James grunted, not even looking up from _The Scarlett Letter_ by Nathaniel Hawthorne that I had picked out for him from the large shelf in our common room.

"Dumbledore wants to meet with us soon to discuss something."

"That's nice."

"James? Are you even listening to me? James? James, I hooked up with Sirius."

"You what?!" He shouted, dropping his book.

"You know, I love the fact that you like reading muggle literature, but it's really getting in the way of your communicating skills, James." I smirked at him.

"And _you_ know, I love the fact that we're together, but you can't lie to me about hooking up with my best mate." He grinned. Soon I felt his muscular arms wraparound my waist as he buried his head in my hair. I sighed in satisfaction. Over the few weeks of being with him, I discovered that James had many signature moves. Burying his head in my hair or neck, sneaking up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist, kissing my nose, and whenever I would lay my head on his shoulder he would always rest his head on mine, wrap his arm around me, and trace shapes on my arm with his thumb. I wasn't really a big fan of PDA but James had a way of making me not hate it. I sort of had a soft spot for James. I don't know what is was, but he just made me disintegrate. I remember Dorcas and I had a conversation about it not too long ago.

_Flashback_

_"So, Lily, how is the boyfriend?" Dorcas asked, wiggling her eyebrows._

_"James is absolutely wonderful. I'm happier than I've ever been." I smiled, sitting on Dory's bed._

_"Wow, it is so weird to hear that coming from you."_

_"It's even weirder to feel, mate," I looked at the clock on the wall. "Look, Dory, I have to go. I have rounds with James."_

_"Oh, okay. Have fun snogging."_

_"We're not going to snog!"_

_"Of course you are. You don't have enough restraint."_

_"Gee, thanks, Dory."_

_"Lily, I know how you get around James. You bloody melt at his feet." Dorcas said matter-of-factly._

_"Great. Now I melt at men's feet." I rolled my eyes._

_"No, you melt at Potter's feet. Not to say that he's not a man. But unlike the girls who follow him around constantly and burst into flames and burn with infatuation; _you_ melt with adoration. You love him to pieces. And you just don't have enough strength to fight the sexual tension anymore."_

_I rolled my eyes again. "Sure, Dory."_

"James, we ought to go to Dumbledore." I whispered, breaking my own train of thought.

"Do we have to go? Can't we just say here?" James mumbled into my hair.

"No, we should go now; I promise it'll just be us afterwards." I grinned before he lifted his head and kissed my nose.

"I'm sure he wants to discuss how we got together in detail." He smirked happily, grabbing my hand and heading towards the door.

"Or he could want to discuss, you know, the reason we won't be here next Saturday." I rolled my eyes as James opened the door and allowed me through.

XoXoXoXoXoX

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter, how wonderful to see you. Thank you for coming. I hope my letter found you well." Professor Dumbledore greeted us when we entered his office.

"Very well, sir." James beamed, looking over at me.

"I assume you know why I called you here tonight; to talk about how you are going to get to Petunia Evans' wedding next week."

"Right, professor. So, are we going to floo there?" I asked.

"Yes, Ms. Evans. Next Saturday you and Mr. Potter will floo over to your parents' house at ten in the morning and you may floo back any time after six o'clock. I do hope the two of you have a nice time. Give your father my best, Ms. Evans." Dumbledore told us.

"I will, sir. We'll see you next Saturday." I smiled as I stood up from my chair. James did the same and we headed towards the door.

"Oh, Mr. Potter!" Professor Dumbledore called as we were about to walk out the door.

"Yes, sir?"

"Congratulations." Dumbledore nodded at my hand that was interlaced with James'.

"Oh, er, thank you, sir," He smiled awkwardly before closing the door and turning to me. "Did Dumbledore congratulate me on _you_ finally saying yes to me?"

"I think… I think he did." I smiled as James kissed my hand.

"Even the Headmaster of Hogwarts knows we were meant to be."

"Oh shut up you muppet." I smiled as we stepped back into the corridor. Walking along the long hallways, I suddenly had a massive, over-powering, almost painful, craving for tea. So when we got back to our common room, I put on a kettle for some tea. I went into my room to change into a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a slightly over-sized sweater. I yanked my hair into a side bun and went back into the common room kitchen to take the steaming kettle off of the stove and pour myself a cup of tea.

"Do you want any?" I asked James whose nose was stuck in _The Scarlett Letter_ again.

"Hmmm? Oh, sure." He marked his page as I poured the piping hot water into a mug before adding my favorite tea bag and stirring it a bit.

"Thank you, m'dear. Now, Evans, I feel as though I know nothing about your family. And I am going to meet them next week." James grinned as I handed him his mug of tea.

"Well, I haven't told you about them because, honestly, I don't like talking about them much. After my mum died, I just felt like my family was small and I felt like the biggest part of it was gone, you know? Just this huge chunk of it that was bitten off and spit out," I stared into my tea, hoping it would give me some sort of strength to tell James as much as I could about my sorry excuse for a family. Before he said anything else, I started talking. I didn't know why, but I just did. I guess I just felt safe with James.

"My dad, Andrew, is a secondary school English teacher. That's probably where my love of books comes from. Though he just teaches kids about English and literature, he is easily the smartest person I know. He is so knowledgeable about the world and experiences and books and technology and just everything, but he won't admit to any of it. He's too modest for his own good."

"Sounds like a certain Head Girl." James smirked as I tossed a pillow at him. I curled up next to him on the couch hoping that maybe he would suddenly forget about my family and just let me lay there next to him. He didn't forget, so I trudged on.

"He's also the most immature man I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. He makes the worst, most inappropriate jokes. Despite him being fifty-six, he acts about fifteen. He and Sirius would get along swimmingly." I smiled before continuing. I knew what was coming, so I ignored my brain's plea for tears and just proceeded.

"My mum, Genevieve, was a secondary school art teacher. She was so incredibly interested art. I would but her art books for her birthday and she would sit and read them over and over for days. For a while when I was fourteen or fifteen, I was really into painting and I loved to see her face light up when I would ask her opinion on mixing colors or whatever. She was probably one of my best friends. I could turn to her for absolutely anything." I said, the tears starting to break through.

"Lily, please don't cry. If you want to stop-" James spoke, wiping away my tears.

"I'll tell you about my sister and I'll be done, I promise. Okay?" I couldn't stop now. I was on a roll. If I stopped now, James would never know about my family. He nodded in response and I started again.

"Petunia and I were extremely, and almost scarily, close when we were growing up. We did everything together. We were closer than you and Sirius are."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know. But then I found out I could make flowers open and close, I could make leaves swirl around, I could do something different. From that moment on, I was the freak. She would barely look at me. That was when I met Snape. He showed me that I wasn't a freak, that I was, in fact, magical. I received my Hogwarts letter and that was when I lost her. Petunia ignored my presence at home, never responded to my letters, she just… she couldn't accept me. She still hasn't." I looked up at James, his eyes sparkling. Probably with pity.

"Thank you." James whispered after a long period of silence.

"Ah, it was nothing. But now you have to tell me about your parents." I wiped the tears from my eyes and prepared myself for whatever might come my way.

"Well my dad, Charles, is an auror, as is my mum, Evangeline. My dad is one of the best cooks you will ever meet. He can change literally anything in our fridge into something you would expect from a five star restaurant. I wish he cooked more often, our house elf, Barnabus, does most of it. He's from my mum's side. She was an only child, so when her parents died Barnabus went to her. Which is good; because she is the worst at cooking. She can't make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without dropping the bread or spilling the jelly."

"I can relate." I chuckled as I lifted my hand to play with James' messy hair. It was always perfectly soft and I just loved running my hands through it.

"My mum makes up for being rubbish in the kitchen with her writing. Even her to-do lists are masterpieces. She's like Dorcas in a lot of ways; always writing." He smiled at the thought.

"Hey, James?" I spoke after I took the last sip of my tea.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." I lifted my head just enough to lean my forehead against his.

"No need to thank me, Lily. And I'm sorry about making you talk about your mum." He kissed my nose.

"Don't be sorry. Actually, I think it's good I talk about her with you. I like getting it out and Dorcas and Marlene and Mary already know practically everything about her. They met her countless times. I just want to paint the right picture in your head of what she was like, you know?" I rambled on. James laughed.

"What? What did I do?" I demanded to know.

"You talk too much, you know that, right?" He kissed my nose.

"My mum told me that all the time." I smiled sadly.

"She must've been a very smart lady then."

"I suppose, but she married my dad, so there must have been something a bit off about her." James laughed again and pulled me in for a hug. As I contently closed my eyes, they immediately popped open when a thought hit me: James Potter was going to meet my father.

Merlin please help me.

* * *

_Did you like it? Did you hate it? Let me know. Review or message me on tumblr. The next chapter will be Petunia's wedding. I just wanted to give everyone a little back round information on their families.  
_

_xoxo  
Mischief Managed_


	7. Welcome to Hell

_Hello my darlings. Here is a new installment of __Lilypad__. I hope you like it. It's kind of a weird chapter and I'm not really sure how I feel about it. But there is a StarKid reference... let me know if you catch it. Enjoy this somewhat odd chapter. Read on! (Oh wait, I almost forgot... there's just this little announcement going around that there will be a __FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM__ MOVIE. LIKE OHMYMERLIN I AM SO HAPPY. LIKE 1920s WIZARDS LIKE AHHHHHHHHHHHH. Okay... that is all.)_

* * *

"Lilyyyy. Come on Lilypad. We have to go to Dumbledore's. Your sister is getting married. We have to  
leave soon, Lil." I heard a warm, gentle voice coaxing me to get up. Soon a pair of hands ripped the comforter off of my small body. I turned over to see a very smug James Potter.

"Jamessssss don't make me go." I whined trying to take my comforter back from the hands of my demon-boyfriend.

"Lily, you have to get up, come on. You need to be there for you sister, no matter how much you don't get along. Dorcas dropped off your dress a few minutes ago and the rest of the Marauders will be here any minute to drop off my tux. Now get your cute bum out of bed before I _make_ you get up." He smiled cheekily before turning around and shutting the door behind him. I sighed heavily and decided I should just get up and face the music. I rolled out of bed and walked lazily over to my dresser. I threw on a pair of white jeans and my low-cut navy blue sweater that I knew James loved. _Dammit. I should take a shower._ I thought to myself before deciding I would just magically wash and curl my hair. I stepped into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and washed my face before grabbing my makeup bag and tossing it in my purse. After I had checked my garment bag to make sure Dorcas had given me the right dress, I seized my purse and walked out to the common room.

"Miss Evans! You can't possibly be going to your sister's wedding in jeans and sweater!" Sirius gasped when he saw me.

"Shut up, Sirius. I have my dress in this bag, thank you very much."

"Can we see?" Peter asked curiously.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, but don't tell James what it looks like. I want it to be a surprise." I hesitantly zipped open the bag and let the boy get a sneak peak of the dress.

"Prongs is going to have a heart attack when he sees you in that, Lily." Remus smiled as I carefully closed the bag.

"Damn. Then I should probably have a back-up date. Hmmm. I suppose I could ask Benjy Fenwick from Ravenclaw…" I muttered.

"You, my flower, will not being attending anything with Benjy Fenwick. Why would you even consider that?" James asked as he walked into the common room, a garment bag of his own in his arms.

"No reason. Now, you two should be off; it's nearly ten." Sirius jumped in, giving me a wink when James wasn't looking. I mouthed a thank you to him before walking out the door and preparing myself for hell.

XoXoXoXoXoX

"Merlin, Lily! You have to give a man a little warning." My father rushed over to the fireplace to help me dust the ash off my clothing. I moved hastily out of the way, anticipating James' arrival. My father noticed and cocked his head a little.

"God, Daddy, I've missed you so much!" I smoothly played the 'daddy' card and embraced him in a warm hug.

"I've missed you too, baby girl. Is Dorcas coming with you? I just picked up some of her favorite pancake mix and some-" My dad rambled before being interrupted by a dark haired, hazel eyed, seventeen year old boy landing in my living room fireplace. James brushed himself off a bit, stepped down from the hearth and stood next to me.

"Daddy, I er… this is… this is James Potter… my… boyfriend." I stuttered before my father raised an eyebrow.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Evans. I hope you're doing well." James extended his hand.

"Ah. So _you're_ the boy Lily talks about all the time." My father smiled before accepting the handshake.

"You talk about me, do you Evans?" James smirked a little too pompously.

"Just remember until about a month ago it was all out of anger and hatred." I snapped back. My father looked at us awkwardly for a moment, not understanding our relationship.

"Well, James, allow me to show you where you can get ready. Petunia and her mates will take my room and hers and they'll probably grab a hold of the bathroom as well. You can use the spare guest room." My dad smiled again before heading up the stairs. I walked into the first room on the right and immediately felt better. My room had always been soothing to me. Once my dad had showed James the guest room diagonal to mine, he closed the door and rushed into my room.

"Lily, why on _earth_ is there a seventeen year old boy in the guest room?" He asked, somewhat angrily.

"Because I brought him here. Look, Dorcas had a date, Mary had to do some Christmas shopping, and Marlene had some studying to do. I wanted to bring one of them, but I thought it might be nice for my father to meet the boy I've been dating for a month. I'm sorry I didn't warn you." I said, hanging my garment bag up on a hook by my closet.

"It's fine, Lil. But next time, give me a little warning, please." His face softened quite a bit, he would be over this soon enough.

"I will, Daddy. Now can I get ready so we can get this wedding over with?" I smiled as nicely as I could.

"That's the spirit, honey." My dad said sarcastically as he walked out of my room, closing the door behind him.

XoXoXoXoXoX

"James, come on, we have to go. I'm sure you're pretty enough." I called through the door. I tapped my black heel impatiently _Merlin, he takes longer than I do_.

"Alright, I'm coming. Hold your hippogriffs." James grumbled as he opened the door, revealing his incredible tux. Though he looked absolutely flawless, his unruly hair still stood up in the back. He took a step back to look at me. I blushed a little bit, looking down at my emerald green dress, and brushing a piece of my curled hair out of my face. My messy bun was the perfect amount of messy but I had left a few pieces cascading down to frame my face.

"Lily, you look absolutely….. amazing." James whispered.

"You clean up nice, yourself, Potter." I muttered, stepping a bit closer to him. I straightened his bowtie and my hands lingered a bit longer than they should have. Our noses were practically touching as I stood on my tiptoes (even in heels, I was still shorter than James) and leaned in and-

"Lily! What on earth are you doing?!" A shrill voice questioned.

"Oh, Tuney, didn't see you there. Er… Petunia, this is James Potter… my… boyfriend. James, this is my sister Petunia."

"Ah, Petunia, how lovely to meet you, and on such a happy occasion." James cooed as he went over to kiss her perfectly manicured hand.

"Well, yes. Do you suppose I could borrow Lily for just a minute?" Petunia asked as she blushed and dragged me away, not even waiting for James to answer.

"I'll meet you downstairs," I called before turning to Petunia. "What is your _problem_?"

"_My_ problem? Why the _hell_ did you bring another _freak_ to _my_ wedding?!" Petunia demanded to know.

"Y_ou_ said I could bring a guest. James is my boyfriend and I thought it would be nice if he met my family."

"Fine, but no funny business, Lily. I mean it." Petunia said through gritted teeth as I started to head down the stairs, preparing myself for the wedding. _Welcome to Hell._

XoXoXoXoXoX

"Ah, yes. This is Petunia's sister's boyfriend, Jeremy." Vernon, Petunia's now husband, spoke to a large group of my family and Petunia's boring friends.

"It's James, actually." I spat, taking a swig of my rum and coke.

"Oh, pardon me." Vernon said, waving his hand dismissively.

"James, what line of work are you in?" My Aunt Caroline asked.

"Well, I plan on being a-" James started before looking nervously at me.

"James wants to be a doctor," I interrupted. "Excuse us, James and I will be back in just a mo'. I took James' hand and walked him out the back door of the hotel where the reception was.

"Sorry, I'm just no good with muggle terms and I didn't know what-" James started to apologize before I kissed him. It lasted a few minutes with very little tongue. It was just simple and sweet.

We broke apart and I spoke. "You are the most wonderful, amazing, perfect person in the entire world, you know that?"

"I might have to fight Sirius on that title, but why do you think so?" James tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"Because you came here, you put up with my family, and you didn't laugh too hard when Petunia's heel came out from under her when she was going down the aisle." I smiled, recalling the image of Petunia tripping ever-so-slightly as she walked down the aisle.

"Oh, it wasn't that funny." James held back a smirk.

I snorted. "Hey, let's get out of here. We can go back to my house for a little bit before we go back to Hogwarts."

James nodded enthusiastically before we headed back inside so I could say good-bye to my father.

"Daddy!" I called out, getting my father's attention and walking towards him. "Dad, I'm sorry but James and I ought to get going. I have to grab some more clothes and a few books. But I'll be back for a few days at Christmas."

"I'll see you at Christmas, sweetheart. I love you." My father said, engulfing me in a hug and kissing the top of my head.

"I love you too, Daddy," I smiled, a tear rolling down my cheek, "Miss you already."

My father nodded solemnly. "I'll see you at Christmas. Lil, would you mind giving James and me a moment… alone?"

"Daddy, anything you have to say to James, you can say in front of me. We don't want to relive what happened before my 6th year when-" I started.

"Fine, Lily," My father spoke, cringing at the summer before my 6th year at Hogwarts. "James, I'm sure as Lily has already told you, I am extremely close with her. And I just want to let you know that if you _ever_ hurt her in anyway, I'm not going to hurt you." James' eyes widened in shock. My father was never a violent man. At times he was loud, but never violent. "But I will warn you that you will have lost a very lovely young lady. Lily has her quirks and I'm sure you'll learn some of them. I only have one rule for dating Lily. Always, always, _always_ tell the truth, if you're lying… she'll see through you in an instant." My father kissed the top of my head and smiled at James.

"You can count on me, sir." James saluted.

I rolled my eyes and snorted. "Ignore him, Dad. I'll see you soon."

James led me over to where Petunia was sitting with Vernon. He gave me a little push forward and nodded disarmingly.

"Tuney? I just wanted to say that I really am happy for you and Vernon. And I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with James and me when I go on my holiday next week."

"How dare you. I know Vernon has put up with you being a little _freak_ but I will not have him exposed to anymore of your freak friends. So, no, Lily; Vernon and I will not have dinner with you and your freak boyfriend. Have a nice trip back to your stupid freak school." Petunia sneered.

"_Fine._ I hope you have a nice life, Petunia." Tears streaming down my face as I grabbed James' hand and rushed out of the reception. We apparated back to my house and I sat down on the porch swing my father had put up when my mother was pregnant with me. James sat down next to me and I leaned into him shoulder and cried. Cried about Petunia being a stupid twat, about my mother, about my father, about bringing James into my crazy and truly fucked up life.

"Lily, you need to stop. I can't watch you like this. It's more painful that watching Sirius in potions class." James kissed the top of my head.

I laughed weakly. "I'm sorry about all of this. Tonight wasn't supposed to end like this." I wiped my eyes carefully and turned to face James. His hazel eyes sparkled as his glasses slipped a little further down on the bridge of his nose.

"Don't be sorry, Lily," James said before turning away from me. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"What happened in the summer before 6th year?"

Well, I guess that cat is out of the bag now.

* * *

_Dun dun dunnnnnn. I thought I would leave you with a bit of a cliff hanger. There won't be a chapter for a while, but in the next one you will get a little bit more of Lily's past and maybe a Snape confrontation. Maybe? Maybe? I don't know._

_Reviews are the best._

_xoxo  
Mischief Managed_


	8. Confessions and Confrontations

_Hello doll-faces. How are my Jily fans on the lovely JILY WEEEEEEEEEEEEK?! In honor of this Jily Week, I decided to finish up this chapter. It's probably my shortest one yet, but I reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally wanted to get it up this week for you. I hope you like it... it's mostly fluff but there's a bit of excitement, I suppose. Now, as a heads up, I want to say that the whole "summer before sixth year" thing was originally a conversation between my friend and I. I'm sure she doesn't even read this story anymore, but I hope she does. So yeah, it's kind of crazy, but I think it shows some character development for Lily. Anyway, I'm rambling now. I hope you like this short chapter and hopefully the next one will be up within the next few weeks... Read on!_

* * *

I froze completely and stared straight ahead. I could have sworn my heart stopped beating for a second. _Dammit._ I hadn't meant for it to slip out with James right there. I was just proving a point…

"Lily?"

I shook my head out of the sort of trance I was in.

"Hmm? Oh, right," I said, looking down at my feet. "Look, James, if I tell you what happened, you… you have to promise never to tell anyone. Not even Sirius. There are no exceptions. It's probably my deepest, darkest, secret."

He silently nodded. I wasn't sure if he didn't know how to agree to not say anything or was surprised that I was so intense about this or what, but he seemed to understand how important this was to me.

"Alright then. Well, after what happened with Se- I mean, Snape and I-" I felt James tense up next to me. "I became depressed. I couldn't sleep, I could barely eat, and I just felt like complete shit all the time. So I was utterly thrilled when summer holiday came around, until I remembered that my mum had become sick a few weeks prior. So then I became even more depressed than before.

"One day, I was heading into town to stop by my favorite bookshop and I met up with one of my old muggle friends from school, Penelope. Penelope and I got caught up a bit over some coffee and she invited me to go to one of her mate's parties that night. I accepted and we went; and that was the start of my downhill spiral. Penelope and I went to several other parties over the course of that summer and I got plastered just about every night and sort of just blew off my family. That was also the summer that I had brought home a few boys to meet my father: Evan, Jonathan, and Christopher.

"They were all sweet boys but I wasn't sure if any of the relationships would really go anywhere. But you know me," I paused for a brief chuckle. "I wanted to be sure. Evan was the only one I had serious feelings for; until I found out he was shagging another girl. But never mind that. I guess that summer I just wanted to blow off some steam because the Snape incident was still fresh in my mind, my mum had just been diagnosed and I just felt like my entire life was caving in on me. I regret it now more than anything because I had _known_ that my mum was sick and I should have been spending time with her."

James sat there not saying anything, just soaking it all in. It was a long time before he spoke.

"You know, I don't think you should regret it. You experienced life and learned that it's not always as pretty as people say it is." He said, thoughtfully. "And you may have known that your mum was sick, but you obviously thought that she would get better. And Lil? It is okay to blow off steam every once and a while. You were obviously mad and upset and depressed, and that's allowed to happen sometimes."

"But still I should have been with her and-" I started, tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Lily? It's okay," He kissed my nose. "Look, why don't we floo back to Hogwarts and get you into bed?"

I nodded. "Just let me grab a few things from my room and then we can go." James stood up and offered his hand. I wiped my eyes and took it as he led me into my house. We walked up the stairs and into my room I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a few more sweaters as James looked at the pictures on my bedside table. One of my mother and I when I was about 13, one of my father and I when I was 16, one of my mother, father, and Petunia when Petunia was about 10 and I was 8 or so. The last one was of Dorcas, Marlene, Mary, and I from last year.

"Is that your mum?" James asked, pointing to the black and white photo of my mother and me.

"Yeah."

"She's beautiful."

"She was… the most beautiful woman I know. I always dreamed of looking just like her someday." I smiled, closing my dresser drawer and walking over to the closet. I opened it and pulled out a few extra skirts.

"You look like her," He paused. "A lot like her, actually."

I grinned to myself, my hands lingering on a black high-waisted pencil skirt. That was possibly the most perfect complement I could have ever gotten._ I'm falling in love with him. Damn._

XoXoXoXoXoX

"Alright, I'm going to spilt you all up into partners for today." Professor Slughorn announced. I sighed. I knew I would be put in the front with some abnormally smart Ravenclaw or-

"Miss Evans, why don't you move to the front of the room with Mr. Snape?"

I would have preferred the Ravenclaw.

I picked up my bags and moved, noticing Dorcas' sympathizing face. Crossing my arms, I sat down next to Snape and turned around to see James sitting with Dorcas and Sirius sitting with Remus. I silently cursed at myself for being one of Slughorn's stupid "gifted" students.

"Now open your books to page 19 and please produce a sufficient calming draught with your partner." Slughorn smiled awkwardly before going back and sitting at his desk. I looked over at Snape who had already gathered the ingredients and was crushing some beetles of some sort. After a period of time, he finally spoke.

"How's your relationship with _Potter_?"

"That is absolutely none of your business." I responded dryly.

"You shouldn't be with him, Lily." Snape said quietly, stirring the potions a few times.

"Oh, so now you can dictate who I date?" I snapped.

"No, Lily, that's not what I meant. I just meant that-"

"No, it's exactly what you meant. You think you can control my life; you think that it's okay to call me the worst racial slur you possibly can and then think we'll be best mates again? You chose your life and I chose mine, Snape. You want to hang out with rude, cruel, destructive, power-obsessed boys; well I want to hang out with caring, funny, intelligent, generous boys like James Potter."

"This isn't you, Lily. You never wanted to be with him before."

"Things change, opinions change, people change. You, of all people, should know that."

"I miss the old Lily." Snape stared at his feet, avoiding eye contact with me. _The little coward._

"She left two years ago… because of you." I spat before Slughorn spoke.

"You may leave your cauldrons and I will give you your grade tomorrow." I grabbed my bag and met James outside of the classroom.

"Are you okay, love?" He questioned, noticing the tears starting to form in my eyes and my red cheeks.

"Just peachy." I said, my mind blurring with Snape and Christmas coming and my father and then I realized something.

It was the day before we went off for the holidays and I hadn't gotten James a Christmas present yet.

And Christmas was in six days.

* * *

_What did you think? I know it's not that great, but it's something right? I know the summer before sixth year thing was a little weird but I feel like everyone always has Lily as this completely sheltered girl who knows very little about the outside world. I wanted to show that even the sheltered kids always have a dark secret (this includes myself)._

_I was trying to have Snape feel both angry at Lily and at himself, and I know Lily sort of blew up at him, but hey, he called her a m*dblood. There will be more Snape confrontations in the future. But I think the next chapter will probably just be Christmas fluff. Potter party maybe?_

_xoxo-Mischief Managed_


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